Les Invalides

We certainly haven't done our duty in seeing all there is to see in Paris...yet.  We're working on it.  So a while ago we went to Les Invalides.  How do I describe it?  Well, it was built buy Louis XIV to be a hospital/chapel for wounded veterans, and I hear it is still home to about 100 veterans.  We didn't see them, though. 

It is probably most famous as the resting place for Napoleon.  I am still confused as to why the French revere him so much.  Didn't they exile him?  He actually died in exile and eventually they had to request that his body be exhumed and moved to Paris.  But now he is inside 5 caskets plus a huge granite sarcophagus (in the picture behind me).  Well, maybe he represents the time when France was really an "Empire." I don't know. 

So, back to Invalides.  It also is home to the Musee de l'Armee, which a large collection of armor and weapons from the 1400's to the present.  So we saw that...very briefly (in about 5 minutes).  Not my cup of tea.  I'm sure that is very interesting to some people.  But I'm not really into weaponry.  Ah, well. 

We spent a lot of time in their exhibition of World War I and World War II.  It was interesting.  The WWI part was neat, especially because so much of the trench warfare happened on French soil.  It was obviously felt very acutely here.  The WWII exhibit was interesting because it was from the French perspective.  They were an occupied country for almost the entire war, so it was interesting to see what they emphasized: the foreign battles (in Asia and Africa), and of course they had to mention any time there were even a few French resistance fighters.  There was certainly a strong emphasis on Charles de Gaulle, whom they revere (hence the largest airport in Paris is named after him).  Certainly, there was not much emphasis on the British or American contribution to the war, although it is included (honestly, how could it be left out).

Well, that was our visit to yet another Paris attraction.